Kirnberger Symphoes: World Premiere Recordings "His early acquaintance with the great school of Sebastian Bach, as well as his perspicacity, which enabled him to discover at an early stage the depth and incalculable richness in the works of this great master, unfathomable to so many others, and which had endeared him to this school, an institution which also demanded high precision and refinement in it's practice, something far more difficult to achieve than the glittering lustre of more recently founded schools, as well as for the harmonic part of the art, which it's master fathomed and exhausted as no one before him had ever done, all the more passionately and exclusively, since nature seemed to have denied him the delicate feeling for melodic beauty." - AMZ III, December 1800, p. 506

Chopin Piano Concertos 1 & 2, recorded live with the Liepaja Symphony Orchestra Fr�d�ric Chopin wrote two piano concertos, which are now considered among the most important works of the Romantic period. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, was composed first in 1829 but was not published until later. It showcases Chopin's youthful virtuosity and lyrical musical language, particularly in the slow middle movement. The Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, followed in 1830 and seems more mature, with an even stronger emphasis on the piano over the orchestra. Both concertos are considered key works for Chopin's style: full of poetic melodies, brilliant technique, and sensitive expressiveness.

Like the Christmas and Whitsun festivals, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus was spread out over three feast days. A cantata was sung at each day's church service; Bach, whose ambition in his first year was to present the worshippers of Leipzig with works he had written himself, was thus kept busy. Most of his work in 1724 undoubtedly went into the St John Passion (BWV 245.1), performed for the first time on Good Friday that year, two days before Easter.

George Enescu (*1881 Liveni, Romania - 1955 Paris) "In Enescu, music became the voice of humanity per se, a voice uttering what cannot be said." Yehudi Menuhin George Enescu, far from being only Romania's most important composer, is one of the most colourful musical personalities of the twentieth century. A real citizen of the world motivated by humanistic ideas and a patriot at the same time, he was born in the North-East of his native country but educated in Vienna and Paris, where his extraordinary talent already became apparent at a young age. Pablo Casals considered him "the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart", and the Viennese press enthused about the "little Romanian Mozart", who was admitted to the Viennese Conservatory at the tender age of seven. Enescu's genius unites a great composer, an inspiring conductor, one of the most prominent violinists of his time and a highly esteemed pianist.

I had the priceless opportunity of speaking with Nikolaus Harnoncourt about the keyboard concertos of C. P. E. Bach. His enormous insight, paired with an unpretentious attitude, and his always palpable enthusiasm for the music, impressed me deeply. In the end he said to me, in order to quash immediately all doubt about recording the Bach keyboard concertos on a modern piano: "Do that, do that absolutely; and if you can manage to get something rolling with it, I will be the first to congratulate you." What generosity, but also what a responsibility!" Michael Rische

This recording opens up a lyrically dense world of sound that moves between quiet intimacy and lucid emotional depth. It contains a selection of songs in which the theme of alienation is dealt with on a multidimensional level: geographically, emotionally, and existentially. At the centre of this is the song oeuvre of Alexander Grechaninov, a master of late Russian Romanticism, whose work strikes an unmistakable tone in it's emotional complexity, it's compositional balance, and it's structural clarity.

Each composer on this album encounters the season differently: Schumann with rapture, Grieg with grace, Schubert with introspection, Suk with radiant yearning, Sinding with luminous vitality. In "Fruhlingsrauschen", Nareh Arghamanyan brings together these diverse voices to celebrate not one single vision of spring, but a dialogue of many: an unfolding of human feeling in harmony with the turning of the seasons. Lieder are at the centre of the album: from Schumann's Spring Night to songs about spring by Schubert, transcribed for solo piano by Liszt, Godowsky, Frederic Meinders, and Nareh herself.

'In Mozart's Footsteps' - A Life Between Pop, Jazz and Dodecaphony Few composers have been able to express themselves musically as skilfully as Matyas Seiber: he was the world's first professor of jazz, later becoming active and influential in the International Society for Contemporary Music and a regular presence at major festivals. In his adopted home of England, he turned his hand to a song that can confidently be described as a schmaltzy ballad, subsequently receiving the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for his work. Seiber was also creatively diverse in terms of genres: pieces for an a cappella choir stand alongside chamber and solo pieces, songs, radio and film music, and orchestral works with and without solo instruments.

All the pieces I chose for this album grip me in a very direct way. On top of that, the fact that they immediately won me over when I first encountered them and now feel very close to me. This choice was therefore a gut decision, based on an emotional concept. The common thread lies in the immense will to express that all these works possess. Simon Tetzlaff about his debut CD

Without doubt, the German lieder tradition came to maturity during the first decades of the 19th century. Examples exist throughout the 18th century, and the general song tradition in Europe goes back many centuries earlier. But the first significant outpouring of German song emerged with Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann. Such is the great simplicity of the form - just voice with piano accompaniment, setting texts that touch on powerful emotions - that composing lieder remained relevant well into the 20th century and beyond. The present recording demonstrates the genre's enduring attraction for both composers and performers, as well as it's expressive range.

Robert Schumann's piano music, which Gerhard Oppitz now presents for the third time in a specific configuration of works, displays a special characteristic in contrast to the piano writing of the major 19th-century Romantic piano composers Alkan, Chopin and Liszt. The attempt to categorize his works either as contributions to the Classical models of sonata and variation, or to the Romantic genres of Etude, Ballade, Scherzo and a wealth of dance and character pieces, proved unsatisfactory; that remains the case even though Schumann himself was a regular contributor to the two forms handed down from the Classical era. Schumann himself, then, was engaged in the creative questioning of hitherto valid compositional and musical ideals.

Fanny Mendelssohn composed a diverse oeuvre that includes organ, piano and vocal works. Her organ pieces reflect the Protestant tradition and demonstrate her contrapuntal mastery. The piano works are lyrical, technically demanding and often designed as character pieces. Her vocal works are particularly numerous, including over 250 songs, which are characterized by fine word-sound combinations and romantic expressiveness. This 6 CD box allows an insight into the composer's creativity.

Both as a soloist and as a Lied pianist, Ammiel Bushakevitz has a close relationship with the music of Franz Schubert. Together with Hanssler Classics and the Athenaeum Foundation, the pianist is developing a long-term project to record Schubert's complete solo piano works. Vol. 3 includes last works of the composer.

Composers' conclave in Leipzig - chamber music by Edvard Grieg, Ethel Smyth and Amanda Maier "An expression of the deep friendship by Maier, Grieg and Smyth may be felt in the linking momentum of their composing: although each of these creative figures embodied their own personal style, each of them draws from the living waters of their country's folk music, which throbs through their works as it's primal impulse."

Vienna, Vienna, just you, and you alone Because Vienna was the capital of music, at least in the 18th century, many pieces were not only premi�red there but were also immediately musically adapted there too. There are a variety of ways of engaging fruitfully with the musical works of others, to a greater or lesser extent. One option might be an arrangement, i.e., the adaptation of a composition for a different combination of instruments than originally intended. Entire operas could be arranged for piano, for example, and so find their way into aristocratic salons or bourgeois living rooms. The 19th century also saw the development of the paraphrase, a freely embellished arrangement of popular themes from operas, often in the form of a concert fantasia written for the piano. These also included the variation, or, to be more precise, the series of variations, which took a well-known melody as a model and altering it to a greater degree in each variation, whereby the tempo and key can also change.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonaten und Partiten Vol. 1 (BWV 1003, 1004) Denis Goldfeld, violin Johann Sebastian Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin are among the most important works in the violin literature. Probably composed in Kothen around 1720, they combine profound musical expressiveness with technical brilliance. The collection consists of three sonatas in the traditional church form (four movements: slow-fast-slow-fast) and three partitas, which vary the dance movements. The Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor is particularly well-known, a monumental work that is considered the pinnacle of Baroque solo violin art. In these compositions, Bach demonstrates a masterful combination of polyphony, structure and emotional depth - on an instrument that seems barely capable of polyphony.

For fifteen exciting years the manuscripts of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's keyboard concertos have held me in their thrall. Both delightful and challenging at the same time, a hitherto unpublished and therefore completely unknown world revealed it's hidden beauties. With an eighth CD, my series comprising around half of all the available keyboard concertos now comes to an end. This musical form - according to Emanuel Bach himself his 'most personal' - occupied the composer repeatedly throughout his lifetime. From the astonishingly self-confident concerto Wq1 by a 19-year-old to the cheerfully ironic Wq47 from the year of his death, a long and very fruitful career is illustrated by the search for distinctive new means of expression. As later with the symphonies composed in Hamburg, Emanuel Bach here also took 'all the liberties he needed'. We find bold innovation as well as exuberant kinetic joy, exquisite chromaticism and demanding virtuosity alongside profound contemplation. Michael Rische

Lieder by Hanns Eisler, Rudi Stephan, Robert Kahn, Charles Ives "The album REMEMBRANCE is intended to convey the hope and desperate desire for peace - born of conscious memory and the lessons from the past. With this, my debut album, I want to encourage listeners to reflect and consciously remember the suffering and destruction of war and it's physical and psychological consequences. It should be a remembrance of those who fought for a better world, or dreamed of it. A memorial to all of those who innocently lost their lives far too early. The message of this music is today, unfortunately, more topical and relevant than ever. It challenges us to reflect on the human consequences of war and reminds us of the unceasing desire for peace and a better future." Marcel Brunner

HC25024 Schelb II "My encounter with Josef Schelb's music can be best described as a feeling of extraordinary joy. One hears such expressive sounds, paired with carefully harmonised structures. In addition, there is always a wonderfully playful approach to the various forms and to the peculiarities of some specific moments, as can also be found in Richard Strauss and Sergei Prokofiev. Definitely a musician's composer!" (Leo Siberski)

Musical Life in 19th-Century St. Petersburg: Works for Russian Seven-String Guitar and Fortepiano by Vladimir Morkov This recording is based on a little-known manuscript for guitar and fortepiano held at the Glinka Museum of Music in Moscow. On one level, the album aims to support the revival of the Russian seven-string guitar, an instrument with it's own distinctive tuning (D-G-B-d-g-b-d'), rich history, and unique repertoire. On another, it uses this important archival source as a window into the broader musical culture of mid-19th-century St. Petersburg. To present a fuller picture, we have supplemented the manuscript selections with solo works for both fortepiano and guitar.

This CD is a celebration of female composers in classical music. For too long their work has been undervalued and overlooked, and unrightly so. Their work, if not dismissed, has often been attributed to male composers. We invite you to a journey across three centuries of extraordinary piano music. See for yourself, why we chose to borrow the title of "Femmes de legende": invisible heroines, whose works deserve to become deeply embedded into our repertoire. "Frauen als Muse" alludes to our ambition for this project to become an inspiration and empower future generations of musicians.

At the highest level VISION. BACH Vol. 8 "Hans-Christoph Rademann as director of the Gaechinger Cantorey implements this in an exemplary manner with his ensembles and the soloists. The choir consists of a small chamber ensemble of up to four accomplished voices per register, including the solos. This potential forms an exceptionally high-quality chamber choir, is technically absolutely unchallenged in the demanding opening choruses, is agile and fresh, at the same time full of vocal power and affective clarity, precise and easily comprehensible in it's diction at all times. The chorales are tackled decisively and with the necessary grandeur, without ever seeming statuesque - however, with the right amount of Lutheran vigor and conviction. " Klassik. Com

New: supplemented and completed! "The recordings are of the highest quality throughout! The different interpretations are also convincing, original sound ensembles underline the mastery of Bach's son! A must for every music lover!" "The CPE Bach Edition brings together beautiful music played by outstanding musicians. Ideal for anyone who wants to get to know the work of this composer at an affordable price."

I will always remember Johannes Martin Kranzle�s and Hilko Dumno's Winterreise journey as the most vivid I have experienced. A Winterreise of the now, where one had the feeling of actually accompanying the journey. A Winterreise in which one had the distinct feeling of walking arm in arm with the artists, in which the boundary between stage and auditorium had been removed - not through contrived pathos or deliberate artistry but through the sheer authenticity and forthright passion of these two supremely generous artists. Victor Medem, Director of the Schubertiada Vilabertran

Mody is a very good pianist and a joyful musician: he masters the technical problems with esprit, his pedaling is pleasingly lean, but above all he has an extremely colourful sound spectrum and an imaginative, improvisational approach to Scriabin's inner worlds." Klassik-heute "Pervez Mody is an extraordinary musician and a unique artist" Martha Argerich, 2009